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"Anytime You Need a Friend" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, for her third studio album, ''Music Box'' (1993). It was released on May 31, 1994 through Columbia Records, as the fourth and final single from the album. The song is influenced by pop, R&B and gospel music genres. While the album focused heavily on pop oriented and radio friendly material, "Anytime You Need a Friend" deviated from the formula, finishing as the only gospel-infused song on ''Music Box''. Lyrically, the song's protagonist tells her love interest that anytime he may need a friend, she will be there unconditionally for him. Throughout the song's bridge and climax, critics noted the lyrics altering from those of a friend, to those of a lover. The song was well received by contemporary music critics, many of which praised Carey's large spanning vocal range, as well as its gospel influence that they felt was missing on most of ''Music Box''. Aside from its critical acceptance, the song achieved strong worldwide chart positions and peaked at number twelve on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but became her first single to miss out the top-ten. Additionally, it peaked at number five in Canada and topped the singles charts in Finland and the Netherlands. The song attained a top-twenty peak position in Australia, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Carey performed "Anytime You Need a Friend" live on several televised talk and award shows around the world, including the ''Late Show with David Letterman'', the British music chart program ''Top of the Pops'' and German entertainment show ''Wetten, dass..?''. Additionally, the song served as a closing number on Carey's Music Box and Daydream World Tours, and was featured on her compilation albums, ''Greatest Hits'' (2001) and ''The Ballads'' (2008). Although several remixes were commissioned for the song, the C+C remix became the most notable, being produced by C+C Music Factory's David Cole and Robert Clivillés, and the first of Carey's remixes to feature her on production credits. The song's music video was filmed by Danielle Federici, in New York during the summer of 1994. The video was filmed in black-and-white fashion, and features Carey's first image makeover, where she appears with a straightened hairstyle for the first time in her career. Additionally, the music video showcases scenes of Carey singing by a large church choir in a foyer, as well as several people, ranging from a small child to an elderly man, who are alone and depressed. As the video progresses, the child and man are befriended after brief interludes and prayers to God. The song's C+C remix also features its own music video, displaying behind the scenes footage of Carey and her staff enjoying themselves during the original video's filming. ==Background and recording== For her third studio effort, Columbia Records decided to market Carey in a similar fashion to that of her debut, only having her produce a more commercial and radio-friendly album. Their plans were to tone down Carey's vocals, and soften the album's production, leaving a more contemporary pop record. Agreeing to the change, Carey and Afanasieff began writing and recording material for her third studio effort, ''Music Box'' (1993). On the album's first track "Dreamlover", Carey worked with Dave Hall throughout the song's entire production. In order to help with some of the song's arrangements, Mottola enrolled the help of Walter Afanasieff, who took on the completed track and transformed it into a more commercial hit.〔 ''Music Box'' received mixed critical response from contemporary critics, who suggested that in lowering Carey's vocal bombast, her energy level decreased and felt the album had an "absence of passion." The only song that was not subject to the common criticism was "Anytime You Need a Friend," which some called the album's only real glimpse of Carey's upper vocal registers, and one of the only passionate and gospel moments on ''Music Box''. In an interview, Carey described that although the album's main goal was to be more commercial and radio-friendly than her previous release, she felt the need to include at least one song that featured a church choir and traces of the music that influenced her growing up as a child.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Anytime You Need a Friend」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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